The Complete Guide to the Ultimate Kodi Setup

Wish you had an ultimate Kodi setup with a smooth and seamless TV-watching experience? I have that kind of experience with my Kodi boxes, and I'll share exactly what I do to set it up. In this comprehensive tutorial, I'll go over everything about my Kodi setup process from start to finish so you can follow along.

Do you sometimes get frustrated with your Kodi box? Wish you had an ultimate Kodi setup with a smooth and seamless TV-watching experience?

Well, I have that kind of smooth experience with my Kodi boxes, and I’ll share exactly what I do to set it up.

In this comprehensive tutorial, I’ll go over everything about my Kodi setup process from start to finish so you can follow along with your own Kodi box.

Choose a Device to Run Kodi

The first thing you need to do, especially if you’re new to Kodi, is to decide which device you are going to install Kodi on.

Kodi is cross-platform software so it runs on a ton of different operating systems and hardware architectures. The Kodi download page looks like this (which should give you an idea of what it supports).

So, with that in mind I will let you know a little bit of advice from my experience.

Kodi on Windows

I’ve been a long time user of Kodi on Windows. Back in the day (several years ago), Windows was the best platform to run Kodi (or XBMC at the time). I remember when the XBMC team was working on getting it to run on Android.

Kodi on Android

Fast-forward today and now Android is by farthe most popular OS used for running Kodi.

Kodi on Xbox One

Since the beginning of 2018, Kodi has been available to download on Xbox One. I’ve been using off and on since then. There have been times early on where it was pretty buggy, but lately has been a lot more stable.

My Recommendation for Kodi Hardware

While you can install Kodi on your main computer or on your Android phone, I recommend having a dedicated device hooked up to your TV so that you can leave Kodi open and running at all times. That way, when you want to watch TV, you don’t have to wait for Kodi to boot up.

Install the Kodi Software

Now that you’ve chosen a device to run Kodi, now let’s install it. This step is pretty simple and straightforward.

The installation of Kodi will be a bit different depending on the operating system you’re using.

If you are running Windows 10, then you can now find Kodi in the Windows Store. Go ahead and install it there to get automatic updates.

If you are running an Android device that has the Google Play Store on it, install it from there to get automatic updates.

For Android devices without Google Play (like Fire TV devices), you’ll need to manually sideload the app using this tutorial.

For all other cases, visit the Kodi download page, and see the download and/or guide that fits your case.

Install Your Favorite Kodi Add-on

I’ve tried a lot of unofficial video streaming add-ons for Kodi, and the best ones have been in the line of forks starting with Genesis, then Exodus, then Covenant. These were my favorite add-ons, and now there are so many forks of these add-ons. While some other add-ons can be really good for a specific niche, the add-ons of this type are by far the best overall. This is because…

They gives you access to all TV shows and movies in one add-on

They support Real-Debrid integration (via URLResolver)

They have Trakt.tv integration that support both lists and watched status/progress

When you’re done installing a Kodi streaming add-on, come back here for the rest of the setup (the important part!)

Setup Trakt.tv Integration

What is Trakt?

Trakt.tv is a very well-designed website that is used to “scrobble” TV shows and movies. Scrobbling simply means that it keeps track of what has been watched. It also keeps track of progress through episodes or movies so that you can pick up where you left off.

Trakt also lets you manage “Lists” of TV shows and/or Movies. So when your friend tells you about a new show that you should try out, you can easily add it to your list using the Trakt.tv website on your phone.

What Does Trakt Bring to Kodi?

With Trakt.tv integration in Kodi, that new show that you added will be waiting for you on Kodi when you get home. You can start watching it on Covenant, then stop it half way through, go to a different TV with a different Kodi box, open a different add-on that also supports Trakt like SALTS, and automatically resume that same episode where you left off!

Now select Trakt again go to Configure > Synchronize and turn on both “Sync movie playback progress to Kodi” and “Sync movie playback progress to Kodi”.

If you don’t want to be bothered to rate things you watch, go to the “Rating” tab and turn everything off there.

To setup your Trakt list in Kodi:

Create a new “List” in your Trakt.tv account and call it something like “SubscriptionList”. (in My Profile > Lists)

Add all your favorite shows to your new SubscriptionList by browsing the Trakt.tv website, or do it from the Kodi add-on by hitting menu on any show or movie and selecting “Trakt Manager”

You can find your TV show list in the add-on under My TV Shows > TV Show Lists > SubscriptionList (or the name of your list)

To setup New Episodes that come from Trakt:

In the add-on settings, in General, set New Episodes to “Trakt Episodes”

Now you can see new episodes from your Trakt list under “New Episodes” in the add-on

Subscribe and Connect Real-Debrid to Kodi

Subscribing to Real-Debrid is by far the #1 best thing you can do to improve your Kodi experience.

It’s not just me saying that. I’ve recommended Real-Debrid to all my friends and family, and all of them agree that it was a day & night difference after setting up Real-Debrid. Also, I do not receive any money from Real-Debrid, so I’m not trying to sell you something here. I just know how it helps.

Now, let me share a little background on why Real-Debrid exists and what it does.

Streaming add-ons like these simply aggregate links to videos on streaming websites all over the Internet. Over the years, these streaming websites have started getting bombarded with traffic coming from Kodi users who are using add-ons like these. Many of them have responded by blocking or throttling their bandwidth to free users, while they offer high bandwidth streaming to their premium paying users.

Since there are so many of these streaming websites, it would unfeasible and expensive for users to go and subscribe to many of these individual sites.

So, these streaming websites banded together under umbrella subscriptions offered by companies like Real-Debrid. The streaming sites win because they don’t have to advertise to get people to buy a subscription to their single website, but instead make a little bit of money off of the massive amount of people signing up for Real-Debrid. Kodi users win because now there’s one cheap subscription that gives premium access to all the major streaming sites.

To install Real-Debrid on Kodi:

Follow the instructions by going to this URL in a browser or on your phone and entering the code that it gives you.

It will have you login or create an account.

Accept the authorization.

Sign up for a Premium subscription by logging in to real-debrid.com and clicking on Premium at the top. Pick a plan based on how many days you want to pay for and checkout. With the 180 day plan, it comes out to about $4 per month.

Once this is setup, you will have see “REALDEBRID”, “Debrid”, or “RD” in the sources that come up when you pick videos to watch. Those sources are almost always reliable, high bandwidth sources that just work. No more hunting through a list of sources to find a good one.

Enable Auto-Play

Now that you have reliable sources that default to the top of your list, take your Kodi experience to the next level by enabling “Auto Play”. Auto Play will not show you the list of sources, but instead will automatically try the first source. If it’s broken, it will move to the next one, and so on. Since the top of your source list will be filled with Real-Debrid sources, Auto Play will work great!

To enable Auto Play:

In add-on settings, go to the Playback tab.

Set Default Action to “Auto Play”.

If you want to learn more about Real-Debrid, or see a tutorial with screenshots, check out How to Get Reliable Kodi Stream Sources with Real-Debrid.

Install a Skin and Use Home Widgets

At this point, it’s you’ve got a sweet setup that is functional and reliable. But what about the looks?

Also, did you know that a Kodi skin can do much more than improve the looks? It can also greatly improve the functional experience of Kodi by giving you home screen widgets of newest episodes from your favorite shows. You can even set up custom menu items that point to where ever you want… like your Trakt List within your add-on of choice.

I’m not going to go through the steps to set that up here. Instead, I’ll send you to my in-depth tutorial on setting up the Arctic Zephr theme with the features I mentioned above.

Here’s my tutorial on how to have an awesome Kodi home screen that dynamically pulls in new episodes from your favorite TV shows as configured in your Trakt.tv account…

Other Cool Things You Can Do With Kodi

Here are a few Kodi related tutorials I’ve written which won’t apply to everyone, but I want to share them in case you’re interested.

This first one was one of my earliest discoveries that blew my mind with what you could do with Kodi. I’ve since then discovered the Trakt.tv integration which basically negated this. However, if you’re interested, check out this tutorial…

If you want to watch live TV using Kodi, but run it through an Xbox One and use Kinect voice commands and an Xbox controller to change the channels in Kodi, check out this pioneering tutorial which includes a video demonstration…

What About Kodi Builds?

I want to make a note about Kodi builds because I’m sure many of you will ask, what about this build or that build.

I personally don’t like Kodi builds. They are meant to pack a bunch of features and add-ons into a single installer so anyone can just install it and get everything right out of the box without any setup.

Builds allow people to get deep into Kodi without having to learn how it works. Many of these build developers quickly abandon it, while masses of people continue to install it. When stuff breaks because add-ons get out of date, the users who don’t know how to setup anything in Kodi are left to just complain and don’t get any support. This gives Kodi a bad name and leaves users with a bad taste.

Instead, I advocate education and the DIY method. YOU should understand what you’re installing and how to use it. It’s very easy to follow the instructions to install add-ons yourself, so I don’t bother with builds.

Let’s Hear From You!

I would love to get your feedback on this.

Was this a total game-changer for you? Let me know… and share it with a friend!

Have you stumbled across some issues during the setup? Give me the details on where you are getting stuck and I would love to help out if I can.

47 thoughts on “The Complete Guide to the Ultimate Kodi Setup”

Hi, great item.
I’m running kodi on a Lenovo A10 Android tablet I stream to my Samsung smart TV using the screen casting function, works great.
My problem occurs when I use a VPN. It seems that the screen cast function and the VPN can’t run together. I have searched high and low but can’t find any way around this other than using a lead.
Your article gave me a glimmer of hope but alas I can’t make it work.
Should I just bite the bullet and accept the only way forward is using a lead.
Thanks,

This guide has been a tremendous help to me, being someone who knew absolutely nothing about Kodi coming in. I’ve now got Kodi up and running smoothly on two devices. I only came across this guide the other day and each time I revisit the site, I keep discovering new useful guides to further my Kodi experience.

I’m not exactly sure what you’re asking. If you get the latest Windows box, it should come with Windows 10. Just search for and install Kodi from the Windows Store, or just download and install it from Kodi.tv.

Mine is not a bare bones, but it came with Windows. If you get that bare bones version, just install the SSD and install the OS of your choice on it. I think it was designed for Windows, so I would probably go with that.

I have 1st gen firestick and reg remote and i have firetv app for phone remote downloaded from google play okay my factory remote will not work because I used droid assisted and i turned off bluetooth now I can not use mouse on app remote it only worked on factory remote but i need mouse to click on the tab to enable bluetooth please help I have searched every where but I am afraid to factory restore firestick that app remote will not work because abd be turned off then ill be stuck with a useless device what can I do I tried to install another app mouse but it says my IP address is wrong but its not

Did you make sure that you have the correct IP address? Also, make sure you’re using the right port. There is a setting in Kodi to pick which port you want to use. If that port is already being used by something else, try changing it on both sides.

That’s an interesting predicament, but I’m not understanding what would be the issue with doing a factory reset? You should be able to do whatever you want to do from a factory reset Fire Stick, right?

I have the same issue. I installed covenant and it worked okish. I then went back and imputed my trakt and Real Debrid details. I use NordVPN with a separate netgear nighthawk router. I also uninstalled exodus and fear that has caused a problem, as not a single film or tv show has played since. very odd. I have toggled auto play on and off but no difference. Always finds lots of streams. Sometimes get the spinning circle, sometimes not. Nothing ever plays though. Any ideas please? Many thanks for all the guides and stuff. They are superb. I’m in the UK, not with Sky.

Sorry for the delay. I don’t know why uninstalling Exodus would have anything to do with it. Have you checked to make sure your Real-Debrid is still connected in case it got disconnected when you uninstalled Exodus? Are you getting lots of RD links in Covenant?

Hi Nathan
UK based and I have used Kodi with a build for a few months whilst understanding it ‘not at all’. Thank you for these guides which I will study in depth over the next month and install all that I need. However. I have an Express VPN fitted because within the next few weeks I will be relocating to Schenzhen, China. Hopefully this will operate out there. Regards, Dave

Hi. I installed covenant and it worked okish. I then went back and imputed my trakt and Real Debrid detals. I use NordVPN with a separate net gear nighthawk router. I also uninstalled exodus and fear that has caused a problem, as not a single film or tv show has played since. very odd. I have toggled auto play on and off but no difference. Always finds lots of streams. Sometimes get the spinning circle, sometimes not. Nothing ever plays though. Any ideas please?

Interesting article. I recommend a intel nuc or wetek device plus libreelec. Kodi is super fast and very lean. Also, with everyone wanting HD, i recommend ethernet over wifi. Real debrid is a real help with add-ons having buffering issues.

Here is my list of recommended devices running libreelec.
1. Intel nuc
2. wetek hub
3. amlogic s905x device or s912[ libreelec forum has a list of recommended devices] wifi is usesless for kodi if you go with this route.

Android with kodi:
wetek hub
nvidia shield
xiaomi mi
firestick or box

P.S. I agree with builds comment. It is bloatware.
Tip: Best experience in my opinion: smoothstreams add-on with sub ,real-debrid with sub, Gurzil or Convenant both exodus forks{just keep up to date].

Next Kodi build will have netflix and amazon add-ons working in libreelec, which is pure linux.

I came across your pages while trying to find why my fire stick running kodi was getting no streams available all the time. i use mainly exodus. with in seconds i had the answer and loaded covenant. Then started looking through all your other tips and pages. This is a brilliant site and i will defenitly keep it to hand. Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge with simpletons like my self. And i am sure none simpletons benefit :-) Thanks again

*KinkeadTech has no affiliation with Kodi, any add-ons, repos, or builds. KinkeadTech.com is a news and informational website which does not support or condone copyright infringement. Kodi should only be used with content that is bought and owned personally or is in the public domain.